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Summary List of stories Phase II Night: Ashes, Metal, And Corruption << chapter 54 Chapter 55 of 75 Whispers Of Untold Stories chapter 56 >> << previous scene Scene 1 of 3 next scene >> Location Participants Time Summary Prologue | Phase I | Phase II | Epilogue 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 Text Twilight Sparkle smiled warmly down at Antares, nodding firmly before she praised in an honestly-impressed voice: "You're doing amazingly, Antares. At this rate, you're going to quickly be smarter than both your mother and your father." "Yeah, that's real impressive." Scrivener said mildly from where he was laying on his back with Luna pinning him, the sapphire mare glowering down at him before she flicked her head firmly to the side to send the black pearl at the end of her necklace swinging painfully into the stallion's face, making him wince. "Dammit!" Antares blushed a little, gazing past where he was working with Twilight on the floor before he smiled and sat up happily. More than a month had passed, and it was deep summer now: Avalon's second birthday had come and gone, and Scarlet Sage's birthday had quietly passed too. Just like Scrivener, Scarlet Sage wasn't very big on celebrating her birthday... but this year, Luna had forced her to have a small party all the same, saying seriously that it was more for Antares' sake than her own... but it had shortly become apparent that what Luna had really been interested in was the cake, which she had greedily gobbled most of by herself. But it had been good for them all, and good for the family... a family that was now closer and more united than ever. And Twilight smiled warmly as she leaned down and kissed Antares' forehead gently, and he blushed and smiled and flailed a little, embarrassed and happy at the same time as Twilight closed the spelling book in front of him and said softly: "You're doing a great job. Your parents and I will meet you outside in just a minute, okay?" "Okay." Antares hesitated, then he blushed again before stepping forwards and hugging the violet mare tightly, and she returned the embrace firmly for a moment before the foal spun around and ran through the kitchen. Then Twilight climbed to her hooves and walked over to poke Luna and Scrivener apart as the back door closed. She opened her mouth, but then only looked up curiously when the front door opened and Discombobulation let himself in. He paused in the corridor, peering at them distrustfully as Luna and Twilight both looked at him and Scrivener glanced moodily over his glasses up from where he was still laying on his back, his collar glinting around his neck... and finally, the Draconequus said mildly: "You're a weird family." "Yeah, but we're a family, all the same." Twilight said softly, smiling over at Discombobulation as Scrivener smiled despite himself, climbing up to his hooves. The three ponies looked curiously over at the chimerical creature as he gazed back, rubbing awkwardly at his wooden, prosthetic arm, and then Twilight frowned a little, asking quietly: "What is it?" "Nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing." Bob cleared his throat, shaking his head hurriedly before he looked lamely up at the ceiling, then finally sighed and slumped a little, holding up a single finger as he dropped his head forwards. "I have a slight problem." "You are a slight problem." Scrivener said mildly, and then he leaned away when Twilight glared at him, even as the Draconequus shrugged agreeably after a moment. "What? He agreed. But... usually you just run off and hide when you go a little too far with your pranks. Like when you set Pinkamena's head on fire." The Draconequus glowered at Scrivener at this, crossing one arm across his chest... then rolling his eyes as his wooden arm moved creakily upwards before he seized it and yanked it quickly into position. "For one thing, I thought all demons were supposed to be fireproof. That's not my fault. She misrepresented herself and thus what I did is a non-actionable. Secondly, I do not run and hide from everything. Sometimes I just run; other times I just hide. I resent the fact that you think I'm so cowardly I always do both." Scrivener sighed at this as Twilight looked at him flatly, and then Discombobulation grumpily rubbed at his wooden arm before he said finally: "Discord sent me a letter. I do not know what to do." The ponies frowned at this, and then Discombobulation sighed and snapped his fingers, a letter appearing out of thin air. It glowed immediately as Twilight caught it with telekinesis, bringing the crumpled, damaged piece of paper over to her to read out loud to Luna and Scrivener. "'Dear Impossible To Spell Name, I politely demand that you get your friends to get me out of prison in Asgard. I am tired of being poked with large sharp objects. If you do, you have my word that I won't cause any more harm to you or yours. Scout's honor. Sincerely, Your Boss.' That's... that's nice." "He always did fancy himself an excellent writer." Discombobulation said ironically, and then he sighed as Scrivener nodded thoughtfully. "I dislike the fact that I feel sympathy for him, of all things. This is like... well... many hero movies, where the hero makes the near-fatal mistake of showing mercy to the villain, who then dies, but dies in a way that's completely not the hero's fault, thus making them look like a shining star of good instead of lucky, naïve, and stupid. I mean, honestly. If Hero A helps Villain B back up to Ledge C, if Villain B killed them, everyone would go 'Hero A, you suck.' Instead, when Bullet D hits Villain B fired by Otherwise Useless Minor Character E, they all go 'oh Hero A! You so good!'" Discombobulation fluttered his eyelashes and knitted his hands together, almost pulling his prosthetic arm off when he held his hands up by his face, and then he sighed and dropped his limbs... or at least his real arm, as the prosthetic slowly, slowly settled back into place at his side. "But I won't lie. I pity him, more than anything else. I understand now what it's like to be trapped in a place, at the complete mercy of others..." Discombobulation looked meditatively down, rubbing slowly at the underside of his chin, and then Luna and Scrivener traded a look, eyes locking, sharing thoughts and emotions back and forth in a swirl before Twilight said quietly: "I think we all have to think about it. Discord... this... in a way, it's a personal issue for all of us." "Most of us. I can't say that I ever really ran into Discord one way or the other." Scrivener said mildly, glancing up with a bit of a smile. "He didn't exactly cause much havoc at Canterlot, after all. My job during that time was pretty much to keep Luna in her room, because she was shouting about pummeling him. I..." He stopped, then looked over at her and laughed, smiling warmly. "Back then, I didn't believe she could actually do it." "Well, I cannot entirely blame thee. I was... almost frail in those days, was I not?" Luna smiled after a moment at him, nodding slowly as she added softly: "And I was trying to follow my big sister once more, do as she did instead of being myself. 'Twas a silly thing to do, really... but... what else did I know? 'Twas a strange world to me, and Canterlot had become a strange place, and society made no sense. Still does not. But come, Antares is waiting. He will be glad to see thee, Bob of Ginnungagap." "Society still doesn't make any sense." Discombobulation muttered, and Scrivener nodded thoughtfully as he turned to follow Luna and Twilight, the Draconequus loitering along after them as he said mildly: "It's because of hipsters and writers and prostitutes." "Writers are often hipsters who are like prostitutes." Scrivener paused for effect, then said seriously over his shoulder to the Draconequus. "They suck." At this, Discombobulation rose his hands and calmly, slowly clapped. Luna rolled her eyes in amusement despite herself, and Twilight smiled over her shoulder, saying mildly: "We all know you don't really feel that way, Scrivy. If you did, you wouldn't still be writing almost every day." "Well, when I don't write, I shrivel up and die. There's a lot of things I do every day that I don't like doing, Twilight, but that doesn't mean I can just stop doing them." Scrivener replied reasonably, and then he smiled and nudged her firmly as he passed, adding easily: "Thought you had finally learned that." Twilight laughed and shook her head, smiling as she sat back on the deck and leaned over the railing to watch as Luna and Scrivener strode out to meet Antares in the field as the foal ran happily over to them, and then Discombobulation smiled as he stepped down and held out his hand, Antares hopping up and flapping his wings firmly to carry himself high enough to slap a hoof against this as he beamed brightly up at the Draconequus. Antares Mīrus: the foal was like a son to her. The pride and love and affection she felt for him couldn't be rightly described any other way, and she was glad to nurture that feeling. As a matter of fact, that was what she had described Antares as to her parents, all those weeks ago now when she had met them in the Vale of Valhalla, with Scrivener Blooms and Luna, and unlike when they had all first met one-another in Canterlot, this time there had been no Celestia to carefully help avoid the more-sensitive topics. But it had been okay, at the end of the day. Awkward and uncomfortable, yes, but... ultimately, it had been okay, because Twilight had been able to see her parents, to spend time with them, and to stand up and honestly tell them that she was doing okay in the world, that she was moving forwards with her life... that she was taking a strange path, certainly, but she had found the path she wanted to take, the life she wanted to live, and what made her happy. She had found something worth dedicating herself to, and through it, gained friends, love, strength, and what she thought of as her son. Not that it was entirely good, of course. Scrivener had tried to hide in his armor for much of the talk and there had been a few names called, a few implications towed, a few... less-than-pleasant words spoken. But ultimately, when Luna and Scrivener had hurriedly been hustled out so that Twilight could talk to her parents privately, understanding a little too late she probably should have spoken to them alone first, things had calmed down. They wanted the best for their daughter, and they wanted her happy, and they wanted her to live a good life, which implied a normal life... except Twilight knew that any chance of living a normal life had vanished a long time ago for her. But Twilight was glad that... hard as it had been, she had done it. They had only had a little time together, and she was well-aware that they weren't comfortable with it, and didn't blame them, but... she knew what she wanted. She knew where she belonged. She knew how she felt, and why she chose to be here. The reasons were right out there in front of her, as she watched Luna laugh and leap high over Antares, only for Scrivener to tackle her out of the air and the foal to jump on top of the pile, Discombobulation grinning in entertainment before Luna shook both the males off and then bounced to her hooves, calling warmly: "Twilight, come now! Join us, thou art part of this family too, I order thee to take part in the family activity." "I am, yeah." Twilight smiled, then she stepped around the railing and ran forwards, and Luna looked surprised before the violet mare tackled her backwards, and Luna laughed as she fell on her back before tossing Twilight off, only for Scrivener to lunge at her... but Luna grinned widely, leaping up and neatly rolling her body through the air to evade him with ease, and instead he plowed into Twilight, who couldn't help but laugh warmly even as she was knocked back a step before firmly shoving him back. They wrested like puppies for a while, until Luna was finally tackled down and squished beneath Scrivener, Twilight, and Antares, and then they finally broke apart, Luna sitting up and wheezing even as her son giggled and clung tightly to her face, nuzzling into her starry locks as she smiled amusedly before reaching up and pulling the large colt off, grinning at him with entertainment. "Child, thou shalt soon be too large to do such things as that! Oh, look at thee, handsome Antares! Thou art a blessing to us." "Nah..." Antares shifted shyly, smiling up at his mother as she set him down, and he gazed radiantly between the adults. "Are Scarlet Sage and Apple Bloom gonna be here tonight? I was really hoping we could... you know, read stories again. I really liked that." Scrivener smiled amusedly at this, reaching out and rubbing a hoof through the colt's mane as he said softly: "Careful there, kiddo. At this rate, you're gonna end up with a cutie mark of a book or something, and everypony's going to think you're a writer like I am. Try and take after your mother." "Well, I think he is taking after me, Scrivy, I also adore a good story, as thou knows." Luna winked across at him, nudging him firmly with her shoulder. "'Tis in all likelihood the only reason I married thee. Well, that and thou makes a very good housewife. I am no good at the housewifery and neither is Twilight. And Bob is not much of a butler." "I have often been called a butt, though." Discombobulation said seriously, nodding after a moment, and Antares and Luna both giggled a little as Scrivy smiled wryly and Twilight gave him an entertained look. The Draconequus peered back and forth at the attention, then he clapped his flesh-and-blood hand against his wooden one firmly. "And now that I have everyone's attention, it's time for something completely different. Let's go raid an office building from a flying pirate ship." "Why must we raid an office building and why must it be a flying pirate ship? Let's raid a train heading to Canterlot, or one of Cowlick's transports, 'twill be quite fun." Luna nodded eagerly a few times, and Discombobulation looked thoughtfully down at her as Scrivener sighed before reaching a hoof up and shoving her lightly. She huffed at him grumpily in response, and then Scrivener turned his eyes to the Draconequus, saying dryly: "Please don't encourage her. She's really bad enough as it is. Besides..." Scrivener turned his eyes to Antares with a smile, saying softly: "Apple Bloom and Scarlet Sage are going to be here tonight, yeah, and they said they have something to talk over with us, too. I'm not sure what about, but... I think that afterwards, we'll probably all want to settle down a little with story-time." Antares smiled up at this, and then he said softly: "I'm gonna miss Scarlet Sage when she moves out, but I'm gonna do my best to be real happy for her, too. Because she really really loves Apple Bloom, and they both really really like it in Ponyville." Scrivener and Luna both looked curiously at Antares as Twilight smiled a little despite herself, even as she asked gently: "What makes you think they're going to do that?" "Just a feeling." Antares smiled up at them, nodding thoughtfully, and then he bounced a bit on the spot, asking curiously: "Can I have chocolate?" "No." Scrivener laughed even as he answered, then shoved Luna before she could say anything before Luna growled and tackled him onto his back, the two rolling like children for a few moments before the sapphire mare managed to pin him back, then she glared at him as Scrivener sighed and said dryly as Antares looked up brightly: "Make that 'yes.'" Antares cheered and scurried up across the deck towards the house, and Scrivener sighed even as he smiled, looking with amusement up at Luna as she grinned down at him. "You know, Luna, I love you and all, but we really need to find a better way to settle our disagreements over raising Antares. Also, you need to stop stuffing chocolate and candy down his face." Luna only rolled her eyes, then she softened as she looked up at the house, saying finally: "We live in a world with an uncertain future, my beloved Scrivener Blooms. Why should I deny my child a little bit of candy, a little bit of harmless pleasure today, when for all we know tomorrow there could be another attack from Clockwork World, or a full-out war between our worlds... during which Antares shall have to be kept safe, kept hidden, and be trained... and... and worst of all, prepared for things no innocent little foal should have to be prepared for." She quieted, and Discombobulation gazed down at them before he said gently: "With great power comes great responsibility. And only fools think that any kind of strength comes without cost. Your son was born into this... yes, it is unfair, Luna and Scrivener Blooms, but let me ask you this: do you trust him? Do you have faith in him?" "Aye, we both do, and I would rather help prepare our son for that which lays ahead and see him ready to take on the role he will one day play, that we are grooming him for, than select another's child and force them to make these choices..." Luna smiled a little, looking up at Discombobulation. "But I shan't take his childhood away from him, either. He trains with us willingly and enthusiastically each and every day, and I know when he plays, he imagines himself upon wild adventures and running alongside us. He is talented and strong... I shall let him find the path himself, even if... I am already trying to light the way for him." Scrivener nodded slowly in agreement, looking up at the sky overhead as he rested back in the grasses, and then he sighed a little after a moment as he reached up and rubbed along Luna's side, letting his eyes rove up to her as he said softly: "But hopefully it won't be for a long time, right?" Luna nodded firmly, saying softly: "Aye. Years, decades, I hope... I wish to see my colt grow up into a fine, strong stallion. I wish to fight as long as possible, but... this is all in case of the worst-case scenario, that is all." Luna shook her head and gazed softly back and forth between Discombobulation and Twilight Sparkle. "We have no plans to give in easily to death, after all, we simply... it would be foolish to not prepare for things." Twilight nodded quietly as Discombobulation looked down, then he shook his head moodily and said grumpily: "Well, this has all gotten morbid quickly. I think I'm going to go poke Gymbr and get another story or two out of that wicked little toy. Not that his stories are much better, mind you... I don't believe he met a pleasant end." "Those who live by the sword, die by it." Scrivener looked meditatively at Luna, who grumbled a bit as she looked at him moodily. "Is that a good or bad thing for us?" "Good, for I refuse to die of old age. 'Twould not be fitting for a Valkyrie." Luna paused thoughtfully, rubbing at her face slowly. "But it would be even better I did not have to die at all. I do not desire to go to Helheim... and... nor do I have any wish to go to Asgard and Valhalla, be it the Vale or the mighty home of heroes... I... do not belong there any longer." She quieted, looking down before she smiled a little, reaching out and stroking a hoof slowly under Scrivener's muzzle. "When Scrivy and I die... we shall find our own piece of paradise. We shall do so, together... and do not worry, Twilight Sparkle." Luna closed her eyes with a smile. "I shan't force thee to choose between us, and thy friends and family whom all wait for thou in the Vale." "Well... either way, it's not going to be for a long time." Twilight said empathetically, and then she reached out and nudged Luna firmly. "Come on, you two, you're sucking all the energy out of the air. Let's go inside and make sure Antares hasn't eaten himself to death." "Oh, I said only a little chocolate." Luna said huffily, and then she paused and frowned, grumbling as she stood up. "But then again, the child is gluttonous as Pinkie Pie at times, and if he has touched those caramel bars I shall restrict him to a diet of vegetables for a week." "Oh no, you're going to feed him the food that regular ponies eat. How horrible." Discombobulation feigned a shocked look, and Luna glared at him before she climbed to her hooves and Scrivener did his best to hide his own amusement as he got up himself. But all the same, serious thoughts were now twisting their way through the male's mind: not depressive, not upset, but calm and heavy all the same. There was a lot going on right now, after all, and the fact so much of it was speculation made it worse instead of better: the only thing they knew for certain was that Clockwork World was dangerous, and it was led by either a crazed, somehow-revived Valthrudnir or some impersonator who had somehow assumed the role of the Clockwork King. Scrivener looked down thoughtfully as he followed Luna inside, responding automatically to conversation, a little distant and thinking slow, serious thoughts, letting his mind work carefully through everything that had gone on even as Twilight went back to teaching Antares for a little while, and Luna curled up with her sketchpad in front of the fireplace while Discombobulation snuck off somewhere. Cowlick and Greece had gone over the schematics, for example, and from them put together a small, simple model with a few moving parts to give them an idea of what they were looking at. Scrivener had stared at this for a long time, at the terrible, octagonal cylinder with a large valve handle on the top, sitting in a wide metal base it could sink down into. What he had assumed was a metal coffin... what Greece thought was more like a cocoon, and Cowlick muttered looked like some kind of protective shell, half-agreeing with the dwarf Artificer and half-concerned it was more some kind of safety cell than a stasis chamber. Scrivener had been careful not to think too heavily about it, though: these days, he had to be even more careful to not stress himself out too much, or first would come the visions, and then he would begin bleeding corruption. After he'd had another attack – which, as always, came with a wave of depression, self-loathing, and wild visions – Celestia had taken some of the corruption he'd bled, studied it, and said quietly that his body was producing a substance very, very similar to the mire that the Tyrant Wyrms created. Zecora had thankfully provided them with a large supply of a potion that made him a little fuzzy for a few hours after he took it, sometimes made him a little nauseated, but kept his anxieties low and let him stay in control. He hated drinking it, but it was a necessary evil: a glass a day to keep the corruption at bay. But Scrivener and Luna had also taken to spending more time with Pinkamena and Sleipnir: sometimes, while Luna spent time with her brother, Pinkamena and Scrivener would head off, talk about things in their half-guarded way, and help each other push forwards. Scrivener admired Pinkamena for the way she had become a demon not just for power, but in order to use that power to protect what mattered most to her; Pinkamena admired Scrivener because no matter what, no matter how close the stallion drew to the breaking point, he always seemed to pick himself back up. They both saw each others' true faces, and the darkness that lurked inside them, and they were determined to help each other, even at the cost of putting up with one another's defensive comments, insults, and occasional growling and biting. Scrivener and Luna had also been forced to accept help from Nightmare Moon, although the earth pony shivered a bit when he thought of this: any hopes he might have once had that the corruption had solely affected him were by now long gone, as Nightmare Moon continued to transform inside of Luna, continued to... to mutate, he thought, was the best word for it. She was not only Luna's passion now... it was like she was greedily siphoning up Scrivener's darkness and corruption, and she had become this unspeakable thing... but as Luna had admitted one night, in the safety and comfort of the darkness, part of the reason it scared her was because it enthralled her. Because Nightmare Moon was inside her, inside them... and would give them a vicious, cruel edge against even Clockwork World if her full power was ever acknowledged and given vent. The earth pony leaned back against Luna as he gazed softly towards Antares, letting his thoughts turn to his son as he felt the winged unicorn's soothing emotions flood gently into his mind, guiding him away from unpleasant thoughts. But then again, the thoughts about Antares Mīrus could be just as heavy, even as he smiled a bit: over the last month, because of the threat of not only Clockwork World, but how serious the corruption poisoning in Scrivener was... they had upped the foal's training, worked to spend more time with him... and written both a will and a small statement of wishes for what they wanted to happen if... something happened. Antares was strong already, and he trained hard, and he was... pure. He was good: not perfect, but they didn't want perfect, anyway. The foal was growing quickly, and by the time he was an adult, he would probably be as large as Scrivener, but he maintained an athleticism about him that spoke much more to Luna than it did him. And Antares had a fine mind, and as long as they took care to nurture him as they trained him, he would make a strong, compassionate leader, who would show empathy and mercy as well as strength and virtue. Who would be honorable, more honorable than Luna or Scrivener could manage to be. Luna was already training him to be a leader: she had no visions of her son ruling Equestria, and didn't imagine that he'd ever desire to be either King or Baron, either, but she wanted to help form him into a strong leader figure. Into someone other ponies could gather around. And she knew, in a way, it was not only unfair, it was almost cruel: she was trying to make him into the kind of pony she herself disliked being, she was already trying to help push him into taking on a position where one day, he would be responsible for others, and would have all the burdens that went with it... and moreover, she was trying to shape him into a pony who would never be without empathy, who would always feel for those around him, who would treat all as equals. A pony who would feel for his soldiers, and thus take great joy in their victories... great despair in their defeat... and great pain in their inevitable loss. But then again, that didn't necessarily mean Luna was trying to turn him into a military leader. Her truest vision was of an Antares who would follow in his parents' hoofprints: an Antares who would wander Equestria, helping set wrongs right like in the old legends, who would always be there to defend his home, friends, and family from invasion and destruction. At least, that was their hope. And Scrivener smiled a bit as he looked silently at Antares for a few more moments, studying the unicorn foal... his growing horn, his strong, leathery wings, his sharp teeth revealed by his child-like, bright smile. He knew, just by looking at him, there was so much in the future for their foal... he only hoped that he and Luna would be able to guide the colt down the right path. Category:Transcript Category:Story